India – Homemaker Held in Fake Canadian Passport Case

MUMBAI: A homemaker is in police custody after she was deported from Canada for flying with a forged passport.

Though Bindu Patel (34), an Ahmedabad resident, cleared the immigration check at the city’s international airport on December 15, 2016, she failed to convince the authorities in Canada the next day, after landing there. Patel was provided a fake passport, which was issued to some other woman hailing from Gujarat.

Officials at Canada airport got suspicious when they went through documents that Patel produced for an immigration check to enter the country on December 16, 2016. “Suspicion was raised on Patel when she failed to explain her identity. She also failed to convince them and later they learnt that she carried a fake passport.We are searching for the agent who provided Patel the fake passport,” said Sahar police senior inspector B T Mukhedkar.

The passport was originally issued in the name of Mayurika Shah from Gujarat. “Patel approached the agent to fly to Canada for a job. She said she did not pay any money to the agent. Instead, he told her that after reaching Canada, he would start deducting a commission from her salary every month. The agent used Patel’s photo on the passport that was issued to Shah,” said the investigators.

Patel has been booked under sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Investigators have collected details from Patel on the whereabouts of the agent.